Spray-painting blunder turns neighbours white

Workmen spray-painting a warehouse as part of a £50 million regeneration project caused thousands of pounds of damage after wind blew a trail of white paint over nearby homes.

Hundreds of cars, a Royal Mail depot and Rainham Working Men's Club about a quarter of a mile away, were also covered in a fine film of paint that was impossible to scrub off.

VolkerFitzpatrick, the contractor for the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation, will pay the clean-up bill.

Resident Peter Blake, 63, said: "You would have thought that with the gusts they would have known better. It took them about four hours to clean my red Ford Focus using a special clay."

The warehouse, overlooking Rainham Marshes, was empty before being converted into offices.